Reply #4: 8 years ago my partner was in a terrible accident.... [View All]

Most of the damage was confined to one of his lower limbs and there was a possibility he was going to lose his foot (he didn't and eventually made a full recovery).

When I was back in the ER with him waiting for them to take him away to surgery, a nurse came back and asked me who I was. I told her I was his partner and she said "We'll you'll need to wait in the surgical lounge. Only family is allowed to be back here."

Luckily, we had drawn up patient advocate forms and durable medical power of attorney forms for one another which would give either of us the legal right to vist and/or make medical decisions for one another.

I told the nurse, in a tone which left no mistake that I was highly displeased, that if needed I would drive home and get those documents, but that if she thought I was pissed now, it would be nothing compared to when I returned. I won, but NOBODY should have to worry about going through something like that during a time like that.

Moral of the story: If you are in a permanent gay/lesbian relationship and you do NOT have these documents to protect yourselves in the event of an emergency, please get them ASAP. Don't put it off.